Videos

TOP 100 INDIAN MAGAZINE COVERS WE LIKED IN THE PAST YEAR
A unique study based upon 5000+ issues of 400+ magazines published in the span of a year in India. This eight minutes long video shows all the TOP covers in alphabetical order. A very useful analysis and presentation for everybody who is associated with magazine industry in India.

Presentations

Ten Secrets of Writing Effective Headlines
Most of the time writers stuck for giving an effective headline to their articles. And in the pressure of deadlines or just because of carelessness, they end up with a poor headline. Here are some tested methods which may help you to put better headlines next time…



How to Create an Identity of Your Magazine
Front Cover of any (specially, newsstand based) magazine not only bears the burden of selling the issue, but they also carries much bigger responsibility of creating the personality or identity of the brand.



Ten Secrets to Win Any Argument
An argument is a psychological battle that you can win easily if you make smart moves.



Tips to Accelerate your Sales Through the Content
It is your ability to share great content with your prospects that determines your sales.



Top 100 Magazine Covers from the Past Year
First of its kind of study of 5000+ covers of 400+ Indian magazines that concludes critical insights that are useful for the editors, publishers and the industry. Get your copy of ‘TOP 100 COVERS’ story & reports, Today!



Indian Magazine Cover Face of the Year
Look who has appeared most of the magazine covers in the past year



A Cover Story
A unique study on 5000+ front covers of 400+ Indian magazines that were published in the past year.



Smart City vs. Smart Citizen
Retailing Challenges & Opportunities in Tier 2 & Tier 3 Cities in India (Keynote presentation by G S Virdi during ‘GATES India ICT Reseller Channel Summit 2016’ held in Aamby Valley City, Maharashtra.)


4 Simple Tricks – How to become a ‘good’ magazine writer

4 Simple Tricks – How to become a ‘good’ magazine writer

Information is fine, but what makes an article interesting is an Art. And this art is equally important for every kind of writing, regardless of the genre you have been writing for. You may be writing for a news magazine or a business magazine or fashion & lifestyle magazine or may be for technology or kids, or women or sports or health or sports or entertainment magazine… any genre for that matter.

It is not necessary that if you are a serious business or financial magazine writer then to hone your writing skills, you need to read similar kind of magazines or books only. In fact, you can learn from lifestyle magazines or men’s magazine or any respected magazine from various other verticals. That is true that to sharpen your knowledge and updates about your own subject/genre you need to read good books and magazines from your respective genre, but to learn the art of writing, you should go beyond your domain.

If you are open to learn from other magazines (then the first and the biggest hurdle you have already cleared) keep this in your mind that you have not picked up this particular magazine to read, you have to learn from it. You need to know what you should look carefully in order to learn. At the first glance it may not appeal to you and may not interest to you. But, remember your aim for picking up this magazine and go through it as per the following fourguidelines. These four points are key areas where you need to focus when you are reading any article from this magazine.

1. Headline: Read it carefully.
Read it very carefully, read them again… and one more time. Try to figure out the sole intention of the author for putting this particular headline for this article. What is the important characteristic of this headline – Is it inviting? Or is it provoking? Or shaking? Or promising, teasing, pinching, hurting, touching or is it sensational? Because, a headline for a magazine article, plays the most critical role to attract a reader when he is just flipping the pages carelessly.

2. Opening: See the starting lines and the opening paragraph.
Pay your attention to the opening sentences of the article how the author is trying to get you into the story. How is he trying to create your interest to read it further- may be by raising your curiosity in some particular topic or by promising some benefits if you read the complete article.

3. Words: Observe the selection of words.
A good story-teller always takes care of the flow of his story. He knows when a particular element needs to be introduced and how it should be introduced. He carefully selects his words to convey his exact meaning what he wants to say. He maintains the pace and the sequence of information or events in the article so that reader should not feel jerks through his smooth ride of reading the article. Look how the author has added some extra information to add value to the article. Look how does he engages, hooks and controls the attention of the reader using his tone of writing or may be through adding some personal connection with the reader.

4. Ending: Never miss the climax.
Closing is also very important, so never take it easy. Article should not have only a smooth ending but also look how a good author makes sure that his closing is fulfilling the promise he has made though his headline. He ensures that at end of the article, his reader must get some take away from the article.

Once you start reading other good magazines on these grounds, you will start gauging the quality of each article and that eventually improve your own writing skills in return. Whenever you visit to the newsstand next time, pickup a couple of good magazines from different genres and read their articles carefully and learn from them. Someday, somewhere, someone else might be learning ‘the art or writing’ by reading an article in your magazine which is written by you. Cheers!

G S Virdi
Editor and Magazine Consultant

Who is your reader

Who is your reader?

What did you say… you know your reader? Fine, just tell me-

  • Do you know when your magazine gets ready in the press, who picks the copies for the distribution?
  • In how many cities and in which cities he sends the copies for sale?
  • In each city across India, who is the dealer or sub-dealer who receives the copies?
  • Which are the stalls & where are they located where copies finally reach to get sold?
  • Who will be the person, who is going to visit on those stalls, buy & read your magazine which has traveled so far from you via so many hands?

…and sitting here on your computer, you ‘think’ that you know your reader who actually is far away from you and is the last person in this chain??

Think twice… or may be again, before writing next article for him!!!

 G S Virdi
Editor and Magazine Consultant

Understand your TG and his needs

Understand your target audience and his needs

Do you really know your reader? Certainly there is not a precise method to know him exactly, but you can know your reader by meeting him, again & again.

Don’t assume his needs nor visualize him sitting on your comp… Just talk to him! This will help you to understand his current content needs as well as the dynamic shift in his requirements also!

Ask yourself (and answer to yourself only)-

  • Can you identify your reader in the crowd of 20 odd people?
  • Have you met around 50 of your readers personally (who were not known to you before you met neither they by themselves landed up to you)?
  • Have you called up your around 100 readers from your subscribers database?
  • How long was your discussion with him?
  • Were you talking to ‘a reader’ or a representative of readers?
  • Did you talk about your magazine or about him?
  • Have you converted them to your friends?
  • How many of those are regular in touch with you?
  • What kind of story ideas/clues do you take from those friend-cum-readers?
  • What are personality traits of your reader?
  • What he eats?
  • Where he goes to shop?
  • What kind of clothing he wears?
  • Which brands he buy?
  • What is his income?
  • What is his disposable income?
  • How much cash you can expect in his pocket at any given point of time?
  • Who are the other family members of your readers?
  • What vehicle he own?
  • Which mobile model he own?
  • What is his education level?
  • What is his intellectual level?
  • What are his other areas of interests?
  • What is his best time pass/Hobby?
  • What kind of content need brings him to your magazine?
  • What kind of satisfaction he feels from your magazine?
  • How emotionally he is connected with your magazine?
  • What kind of sacrifice he can for your magazine?
  • Where does he look for the rest of his needs?
  • How does your magazine help him?
  • Which other competitive magazines does he read?
  • Which other interest magazines does he read?
  • Which are the other mediums he uses for the information?
  • Which kind of movies he like?
  • What kind of music he like?

…and many more things…! Whatever you always want to know about your boyfriend or your girlfriend! Try to dig him up to his soul… up to his mind!

And then, no need to create a log sheet or analytically chart out all this… just sink with this understanding and then write for your reader!

Happy Reading!

 G S Virdi
Editor and Magazine Consultant